Be Still
by vervainaddict
Summary: Elena is with Alaric in the end instead of Damon, 3x20 Spoilers.


Ric had told her to go, told her that Damon could take care of it and "make sure it all went down the right way" but Elena couldn't find it in her to leave. She had stood there, back against the cold stone wall, and watched as Meredith gave him the sedative, and when Damon walked in he and Elena caught each other's gaze for a long moment before he walked past her and took his seat next to their friend on the floor. Elena followed silently, leaning back against the wall as Damon began to talk but Alaric held up his hand and looked at Elena. "I told you to go." He said quietly, his eyes sincere and his voice firm as he spoke but Elena just shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere." She stated before she turned away, breaking his gaze as she settled into her spot on the floor. Ric's hand fell to the floor in defeat and he returned his eyes to Damon. Their words were lighthearted. They joked and laughed and Damon drank his bourbon. It was just a normal night for the two men; it was as if nothing was wrong, like they weren't losing him forever in the manner of hours. There was a sick feeling curdling in Elena's stomach, an anger boiling inside of her as she listened to their banter and she couldn't stay silent any longer.

"How can you two laugh at a time like this?" he voice cracked at the end of her sentence, but otherwise her voice was angry and determined. Damon's eyes grew wide with accusations as he stared at her and Ric didn't even flinch. "Elena, I said to l-" he began but she cut him off, her voice was rising as she pushed herself off the wall and turned in her spot to face him. "I'm not going to leave you here like this. It's bad enough that I don't want to lose you and you're asking me to just walk away and let you go without a fight." The tears were flowing freely again and she knew she was making it harder on Ric to let go of them too, but just this once Elena needed to be selfish for a while. With a small clank, Damon's bottle of bourbon hit the stone floor and he pushed himself up. "Well, I've got to go. Suppose I should make sure no one is killing each other out there." He said and his reasoning was ridiculous and empty but it was clear he needed to go now. He inclined his head towards Ric but his eyes met Elena's as if to acknowledge that he was leaving so she could be there with him at the end.

As Damon exited the tomb Elena took Ric's hand between both of hers and brought it to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to his skin as she closed her eyes and let the tears fall. "You should transition, Ric. You should try and beat this thing." She said, but she knew deep down that there was nothing changing his mind. Once Ric was set on something there was no changing his mind. Never once had he faltered in his decision and he certainly wasn't going to start second guessing himself now. And Ric didn't have to say anything to confirm her beliefs, he just opened his arms and she laid herself into his embrace. Her head on his chest and her feet curled close to them as she pursed her lips in an attempt to silence the sobs she knew were coming. Alaric pressed his lips into her hair and they sat there in silence for a moment, Elena breathing in his scent, and the sweet and comforting warmth of his embrace surrounding her for what she knew would be the last time.

As Elena's sobs shook her, his arms steadied her, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about all the times he wanted to go and she had made him stay. The times he'd been protecting her and Jeremy and died trying. No matter what he, or anyone else, told her she knew the truth – "This is all my fault." She said again, her voice had lost its firmness and there was nothing to conceal her weakness now. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do without you." She whispered, shaking her head before burying her face into the cloth of his shirt. Regardless of his weak state he held her tighter and his hand reached up to run his fingers through her hair just as he had done countless times before to comfort her in the darkness of her room or beyond the reaches of the street lamps as they sat on the front porch, and it was this simple gesture that helped to sooth and silence her before he spoke. "None of this is your fault. If you hadn't asked me to stay I would have found a reason to come back to you. If I had a choice, I'd never leave you." He said, his voice strangely serene. He let out a small laugh before his lips contorted into a hard-pressed frown as he tried to hold back the single tear that slid down his cheek. "_Ever_." But this last word came out weaker than the last and when Elena heard the crack in his voice she pulled back, her hand reaching up and cupping his cheek as her thumb brushed away the tear.

"I know." She whispered and her words were truer than any other she'd spoken all night and she smiled softly as her eyes gazed into his. She hoped that the dark blue hues that could always see right through her could see the sincerity in her eyes now. A mutual understanding passed through them and without another moment's hesitation they both leaned in and for the first and the last time, their lips met in a slow and passionate kiss.


End file.
